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For the Love of Books
Your Bookish Summer Bucket List
by, Audrey Arnold
July 15, 2025

There is something special about summer, especially in Wisconsin where warm weather happens for only a few treasured months of the year. And while reading is a favorite pastime all year round, summer has always felt like prime time for reading. So in the tradition of creating summer bucket lists, here are a few book-centered ideas add to your list. Take yourself on a book… [Read More]

Filed Under: Appleton Public Library, book clubs, book reveiws, Brown County Library, GoodReads, Storygraph, summer bucket list, Summer Reading
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Give the Gift of Books: Ideas for Gifting to Non-Book People
by, Audrey Arnold
December 13, 2024

It’s gift-giving season once again, and there’s nothing quite like seeing the look on a person’s face when they receive a gift they love. As book lovers can attest, books make great gifts. But what if the person you’re buying for isn’t a huge book person? Here are some ideas of newer titles to gift to the more selective readers in your life. Easy Weeknight… [Read More]

Filed Under: Agatha Christie, book gifts, DK Travel, Easy Weeknight Dinners, Emily Weinstein, gift of books, Julie Demyanovich, Libro.fm, The Official Agatha Christie Puzzle Book, The Ultimate Fun Adult Activity Book, USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder
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New Fiction for Summer Reading
by, Audrey Arnold
June 11, 2024

It’s summer! The season of beach reads, page-turning suspense, and cozy reading at the cabin. Whether you travel far or stick close to home, it’s the perfect time to kick back, relax, and get into a good book. And there are plenty of new releases to add to your TBR list! Here are some recent releases across varied genres that I am excited to dive… [Read More]

Filed Under: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Amy Pease, book recommendation, Carley Fortune, cozy mystery, Daughters of Shandong, Eve J. Chung, Hisashi Kashiwai, Historical Fiction, Jesse Kirkwood, literary fiction, mystery, Northwoods, One Perfect Couple, romance, Ruth Ware, science fiction, Service Model, Summer Reads, The Kamogawa Food Detectives, This Summer Will Be Different, thriller
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Gift Ideas for Book Lovers (that aren’t books)
by, Audrey Arnold
December 12, 2023

Wondering what to gift the avid reader in your life this holiday season? Look no further! Here are some creative gift ideas for bookworms that are sure to delight. Blankets and cozy socks There’s nothing quite like curling up with a good book, and these warm, fluffy gifts can make every reading experience even more comfortable, especially in these cold winter months. These blankets from… [Read More]

Filed Under: book gifts, Bookshop, Bookshop.org, Etsy, Litographs, Lumio, Novel Tea Literary Blends, Out of Print, Uncommon Goods
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Graphic Memoir—Art and Prose Capturing the Human Experience
by, Audrey Arnold
November 1, 2023

Memoir allows readers a glimpse into the lives of others, the struggles they’ve gone through, the lessons they’ve learned, showing the width and breadth of the human experience. And with the added visual element, graphic memoir brings another dimension to the story and pulls the reader into the setting without the need for prose description, visually transporting readers to lands and perspectives different from their… [Read More]

Filed Under: Almost American Girl, book recommendation, Deb JJ Lee, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, Emma Grove, graphic memoir, Graphic Novel, In Limbo, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Kate Beaton, Robin Ha, Sunshine, The Third Person
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Summer Reads in Fiction
by, Audrey Arnold
June 13, 2023

Sunshine and warmer weather are here, and that means it’s the perfect time to head outside, kick back your feet, and read a good book. There are plenty of new releases in fiction to be excited about. Here are some of the new releases I am most eager to read this summer from some popular genres of fiction. Fantasy – Witch King by Martha Wells… [Read More]

Filed Under: Chick Lit, Clytemnestra, Costanza Casati, Emily Henry, Emma Mieko Candon, Fantasy, fiction, Folklore, Graphic Novel, Greek Mythology, Happy Place, Historical Fiction, Lore Olympus, Martha Wells, Mystery/Thriller, Rachel Smythe, Retellings, romance, Ruth Ware, science fiction, The Archive Undying, Witch King, Zero Days
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August is for Reading
by, Jill Swenson
August 9, 2022

Judith Rossner’s 70s novel, August, is about a psychoanalyst and the young adult client she sees during the month when all therapists take vacation. Someone needs to write the novel about an agent and the young adult novelist who pitches in August and hears crickets. Is everyone on vacation in August? Yup. August is about beach books and cabin reads. Swinging in a hammock with a… [Read More]

Filed Under: Allison K Williams, August, Baynard Woods, Body Work, comp titles, comparative titles, David Sedaris, Elaine Castillo, Erin Kimmerle, Happy Go Lucky, How to Read Now, Inheritance, Judith Rossner, LaToya Watkins, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Melissa Febos, Michelle Obama, Perish, Summer Reading, Susan Choi, The Evening Hero, The Light We Carry, Trust Exercise, We Carry Their Bones
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Gift Ideas for Writers
by, Audrey Arnold
December 7, 2021

Struggling with what to get for the writer in your life this holiday season? Here are some creative gift ideas to help inspire, motivate, and comfort. And remember to shop early this year to get ahead of the expected holiday shipping delays! Notebooks and journals This may seem like a given, but trust me: writers really do love getting notebooks. And no, there’s no such… [Read More]

Filed Under: Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, Bookshop, Bookshop.org, Etsy, holidays, MasterClass, On Writing, Out of Print, Scribbler, Stephen King, Steven James, Troubleshooting Your Novel
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Booky Call – Book Matchmaking for the Modern World
by, Audrey Arnold
November 16, 2021

According to a recent survey, 62% of women would rather spend Friday night reading a good book than out on a date, and the similarities between how people talk about both reading and dating is fascinating. Given these similarities, and with the success of popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Match, Grindr, and eHarmony, Brant Menswar and Jim Knight, the founders of digital book marketing… [Read More]

Filed Under: book app, book discovery, book recommendation, Bookshop, Bookshop.org, BookstarPR, Booky Call, Brant Menswar, Bumble, dating app, eHarmony, Grindr, Jim Knight, Tinder
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Graphic Memoir—Powerful Stories through Illustration
by, Audrey Arnold
October 6, 2021

With a beautiful blend of art and prose, graphic novels are one of the most accessible mediums out there. Even if you’re not a huge reader, a graphic novel is easy to pick up and digest. More than just superhero comics and manga, graphic novels contain stories from many different genres—mystery/thriller, romance, sci-fi/fantasy, and so much more. While comics and graphic novels are certainly not… [Read More]

Filed Under: Alison Bechdel, Art Spiegelman, Fun Home, Game of Thrones, George Takei, graphic memoir, Graphic Novel, Guts, Hey Kiddo, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Kindred, Marjane Satrapi, Maus, Octavia Butler, Omar Mohamed, Persepolis, Raina Telgemeier, Sisters, Smile, The Best We Could Do, They Called Us Enemy, Thi Bui, Victoria Jamieson, When Stars are Scattered
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RECENT ARTICLES
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Sep 16, 2025   |   Jill Swenson
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